Under Contract No. HY/2012/08, Dragages – Bouygues Joint Venture (DBJV) is commissioned by the Highways Department (HyD) to undertake the design and construction of the Northern Connection Sub-sea Tunnel Section of the Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link Project (TM-CLK Link Project) while AECOM Asia Company Limited was appointed by HyD as the Supervising Officer. For implementation of the environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) programme under the Contract, ERM-Hong Kong, Limited (ERM) has been appointed as the Environmental Team (ET) in accordance with Environmental Permit No. EP-354/2009/A. Ramboll Hong Kong Ltd. was employed by HyD as the Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) and Environmental Project Office (ENPO). Subsequent applications for variation of environmental permits (VEP), EP-354/2009/B, EP-354/2009/C and EP-354/2009/D, were granted on 28 January 2014, 10 December 2014 and 13 March 2015, respectively.

The construction phase of the Contract commenced on 1 November 2013 and will tentatively be completed in 2021. The impact monitoring of the EM&A programme, including air quality, water quality, marine ecological monitoring and environmental site inspections, were commenced on 1 November 2013.

This is the Ninety-fourth Monthly EM&A report presenting the EM&A works carried out during the period from 1 to 31 August 2021 for the Contract No. HY/2012/08 Northern Connection Sub-sea Tunnel Section (the “Contract”) in accordance with the Updated EM&A Manual of the TM-CLK Link Contract. As informed by the Contractor, there was no major activities undertaken in the reporting period.

Termination proposal for construction EM&A programme was approved by EPD on 19 March 2021. The construction phase EM&A programme of the Contract has been terminated since 19 March 2021.

In order to fulfil the EP’s and EM&A Manual’s requirements for TM-CLKL Project, Agreement No. HMWSD 1/2021 (EP) will take over the responsibility for implementation of operational phase dolphin monitoring from Contract No. HY/2012/08 from 1 September 2021 to 31 May 2022.

A summary of monitoring and audit activities conducted in the reporting period is listed below:

Operational Phase Dolphin Monitoring 2 sessions

Implementation of Marine Mammal Exclusion Zone

No marine works were undertaken during the reporting period, therefore, daily 250 m marine mammal exclusion zone monitoring was not undertaken during the reporting period.

Summary of Breaches of Action/Limit Levels

Breaches of Action and Limit Levels for Air Quality

No Action and Limit Level exceedance was recorded.

Environmental Complaints, Non-compliance & Summons

No non-compliance with EIA recommendations, EP conditions and other requirements associated with the construction of this Contract was recorded in this reporting period.

No environmental complaint was received in this reporting period.

No environmental summons was received in this reporting period.

Reporting Change

Upcoming Works for the Next Reporting Month

There are no major works to be undertaken in September 2021.

Future Key Issue

There are no major works to be undertaken in September 2021.

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

According to the findings of the Northwest New Territories (NWNT) Traffic and Infrastructure Review conducted by the Transport Department, Tuen Mun Road, Ting Kau Bridge, Lantau Link and North Lantau Highway would be operating beyond capacity after 2016. This forecast has been based on the estimated increase in cross boundary traffic, developments in the Northwest New Territories (NWNT), and possible developments in North Lantau, including the Airport developments, the Lantau Logistics Park (LLP) and the Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macao Bridge (HZMB). In order to cope with the anticipated traffic demand, two new road sections between NWNT and North Lantau – Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link (TM-CLKL) and Tuen Mun Western Bypass (TMWB) are proposed.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of TM-CLKL (the Project) was prepared in accordance with the EIA Study Brief (No. ESB-175/2007) and the Technical Memorandum of the Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM). The EIA Report was submitted under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO) in August 2009. Subsequent to the approval of the EIA Report (EIAO Register Number AEIAR-146/2009), an Environmental Permit (EP-354/2009) for TM-CLKL was granted by the Director of Environmental Protection (DEP) on 4 November 2009, and EP variation (VEP) (EP-354/2009/A) was issued on 8 December 2010. Subsequent applications for variation of environmental permits (VEPs), EP-354/2009/B, EP-354/2009/C and EP-354/2009/D, were granted on 28 January 2014, 10 December 2014 and 13 March 2015, respectively.

Under Contract No. HY/2012/08, Dragages – Bouygues Joint Venture (DBJV) is commissioned by the Highways Department (HyD) to undertake the design and construction of the Northern Connection Sub-sea Tunnel Section of TM-CLKL while AECOM Asia Company Limited was appointed by HyD as the Supervising Officer. For implementation of the environmental monitoring and audit (EM&A) programme under the Contract, ERM-Hong Kong, Limited (ERM) has been appointed as the Environmental Team (ET). Ramboll Hong Kong Ltd. was employed by HyD as the Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) and Environmental Project Office (ENPO).

Layout of the Contract components is presented in Figure 1.1.

The construction phase of the Contract commenced on 1 November 2013 and will tentatively be completed in 2021. The impact monitoring phase of the EM&A programme, including air quality, water quality, marine ecological monitoring and environmental site inspections, were commenced on 1 November 2013.

Termination proposal for construction EM&A programme was approved by EPD on 19 March 2021. The construction phase EM&A programme of the Contract has been terminated since 19 March 2021.

1.2 Scope of Report

This is the Ninety-fourth Monthly EM&A Report under the Contract No. HY/2012/08 Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link – Northern Connection Sub-sea Tunnel Section. This report presents a summary of the environmental monitoring and audit works in August 2021.

1.3 Organization Structure

The organization structure of the Contract is shown in Appendix A. The key personnel contact names and contact details are summarized in Table 1.1 below.

Table 1.1 Contact Information of Key Personnel

Party	Position	Name	Telephone	Fax
Highways Department	Engr 24/SD	Ken T.M. Cheng	2762 4062	3188 6614
SOR (AECOM Asia Company Limited)	Chief Resident Engineer	Roger Man	2293 6388	2293 6300
ENPO / IEC (Ramboll Hong Kong Ltd.)	ENPO Leader	Y.H. Hui	3465 2850	3465 2899
	IEC	Brian Tam	9700 6767	3465 2899

Contractor (Dragages – Bouygues Joint Venture)	Quality and Environmental Manager	Erwin Regalado	2507 1732	2293 7499
	24-hour hotline		2293 7330
ET (ERM-HK)	ET Leader	Jasmine Ng	2271 3311	2723 5660

1.4 Summary of Construction Works

The construction phase of this Contract was commenced on 1 November 2013. The construction programme is shown in Appendix B.

As per DBJV’s information, there was no major activities undertaken in the reporting period.

The Environmental Sensitive Receivers in the vicinity of the Contract are shown in Figure 1.2.

The implementation schedule of environmental mitigation measures is presented in Appendix C.

2 EM&A Results

The EM&A programme required environmental monitoring for air quality, water quality and marine ecology as well as environmental site inspections for air quality, noise, water quality, waste management, marine ecology and landscape and visual impacts. The EM&A requirements and related findings for each component are summarized in the following sections

2.1 Air quality

Termination proposal for construction EM&A programme was approved by EPD on 19 March 2021. The construction phase EM&A programme of the Contract has been terminated since 19 March 2021.

2.2 Water Quality Monitoring

According to the Updated EM&A Manual, a operational phase water quality monitoring shall be performed monthly during the first year of Project operation at all designated monitoring stations including control stations. The operation phase water quality monitoring shall be ceased after the first year of operation of the Project subject to the first year review. Operational phase water quality monitoring commenced in June 2020 and completed in May 2021.

2.3 Dolphin Monitoring

2.3.1 Monitoring Requirements

Operational Phase dolphin monitoring is required to be conducted by a qualified dolphin specialist team to evaluate whether there have been any effects on the dolphins. In order to fulfil the EM&A requirements and make good use of available resources, Contract No. HY/2012/08 has taken over the responsibility for implementation of dolphin monitoring from HZMB HKLR Contract No. HY/2011/03 since October 2019.

2.3.2 Monitoring Equipment

Table 2.1 summarises the equipment used for the operational phase dolphin monitoring.

Table 2.1 Dolphin Monitoring Equipment

Equipment	Model
Global Positioning System (GPS)	Garmin 18X-PC Geo One Phottix
Camera	Nikon D90 300m 2.8D fixed focus Nikon D90 20-300m zoom lens
Laser Binocular	Infinitor LRF 1000
Marine Binocular	Bushell 7 x 50 marine binocular with compass and reticules
Vessel for Monitoring	65 foot single engine motor vessel with viewing platform 4.5m above water level

2.3.3 Monitoring Parameter, Frequencies & Duration

Dolphin monitoring should cover all transect lines in Northeast Lantau (NEL) and the Northwest Lantau (NWL) survey areas twice per month throughout the entire construction period and operational phase. The monitoring data should be compatible with, and should be made available for, long-term studies of small cetacean ecology in Hong Kong. In order to provide a suitable long-term dataset for comparison, identical methodology and line transects employed in baseline dolphin monitoring was followed in the impact dolphin monitoring and operational phase dolphin monitoring.

2.3.4 Monitoring Location

The operational phase dolphin monitoring was carried out in the NEL and NWL along the line transect as depicted in Figure 2.1. The co-ordinates of all transect lines are shown in Table 2.2 below.

Table 2.2 Operational Phase Dolphin Monitoring Line Transect Co-ordinates

Line No.		Easting	Northing	Line No.		Easting	Northing
1	Start Point	804671	815456	13	Start Point	816506	819480
1	End Point	804671	831404	13	End Point	816506	824859
2	Start Point	805476	820800*	14	Start Point	817537	820220
2	End Point	805476	826654	14	End Point	817537	824613
3	Start Point	806464	821150*	15	Start Point	818568	820735
3	End Point	806464	822911	15	End Point	818568	824433
4	Start Point	807518	821500*	16	Start Point	819532	821420
4	End Point	807518	829230	16	End Point	819532	824209
5	Start Point	808504	821850*	17	Start Point	820451	822125
5	End Point	808504	828602	17	End Point	820451	823671
6	Start Point	809490	822150*	18	Start Point	821504	822371
6	End Point	809490	825352	18	End Point	821504	823761
7	Start Point	810499	822000*	19	Start Point	822513	823268
7	End Point	810499	824613	19	End Point	822513	824321
8	Start Point	811508	821123	20	Start Point	823477	823402
8	End Point	811508	824254	20	End Point	823477	824613
9	Start Point	812516	821303	21	Start Point	805476	827081
9	End Point	812516	824254	21	End Point	805476	830562
10	Start Point	813525	821176	22	Start Point	806464	824033
10	End Point	813525	824657	22	End Point	806464	829598
11	Start Point	814556	818853	23	Start Point	814559	821739
11	End Point	814556	820992	23	End Point	814559	824768
12	Start Point	815542	818807	24*	Start Point	805476*	815900*
12	End Point	815542	824882	24*	End Point	805476*	819100*

Remarks: The coordinates of several starting and ending points have been revised due to the presence of a work zone to the north of the airport platform with intense construction activities in association with the construction of the third runway expansion for the Hong Kong International Airport. Co-ordinates in red and marked with asterisk are revised co-ordinates of transect line.

2.3.5 Monitoring Schedule for the Reporting Month

Dolphin monitoring was carried out on 3, 5, 9 and 24 August 2021. The dolphin monitoring schedule for the reporting month is shown in Appendix D.

2.3.6 Results & Observations

A total of 279.40 km of survey effort was collected, with 100% of the total survey effort being conducted under favourable weather conditions (i.e. Beaufort Sea State 3 or below with good visibility) in August 2021. Among the two areas, 109.90 km and 169.50 km of survey effort were collected from NEL and NWL survey areas, respectively. The total survey effort conducted on primary and secondary lines were 204.34 km and 75.06 km respectively. The survey efforts are summarized in Appendix E.

No Chinese White Dolphins was sighted in the two sets of surveys in August 2021.

No dolphin sighting was made in the proximity of the TM-CLKL alignment.

Encounter rates of Chinese White Dolphins are deduced from the survey effort and on-effort sighting data made under favourable conditions (Beaufort 3 or below) in August 2021 with the results present in Tables 2.3 and 2.4.

Table 2.3 Individual Survey Event Encounter Rates

		Encounter rate (STG) (no. of on-effort dolphin sightings per 100 km of survey effort)	Encounter rate (ANI) (no. of dolphins from all on-effort sightings per 100 km of survey effort)
		Primary Lines Only	Primary Lines Only
NEL	Set 1: August 3rd / 5th	0.0	0.0
NEL	Set 2: August 9th / 24th	0.0	0.0
NWL	Set 1: August 3rd / 5th	0.0	0.0
NWL	Set 2: August 9th / 24th	0.0	0.0

Note: Dolphin Encounter Rates are deduced from the Two Sets of Surveys (Two Surveys in Each Set ) in August 2021 in Northeast (NEL) and Northwest Lantau (NWL)

Table 2.4 Monthly Average Encounter Rates

	Encounter rate (STG) (no. of on-effort dolphin sightings per 100 km of survey effort)		Encounter rate (ANI) (no. of dolphins from all on-effort sightings per 100 km of survey effort)
	Primary Lines Only	Both Primary and Secondary Lines	Primary Lines Only	Both Primary and Secondary Lines
Northeast Lantau	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Northwest Lantau	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Note: Overall dolphin encounter rates (sightings per 100 km of survey effort) from all four surveys are conducted in August 2021 on primary lines only as well as both primary lines and secondary lines in Northeast and Northwest Lantau.

According to the EM&A Manual, Operational Phase Monitoring on dolphin monitoring shall be undertaken based upon the frequency of forty-eight, one-day survey events at a frequency of 2 per month over a period of 24 months following cessation of the construction. The schedule for operational phase monitoring on dolphin monitoring in August 2021 is provided in Appendix D.

2.3.7 Implementation of Marine Mammal Exclusion Zone

No marine works were undertaken during the reporting period, therefore, daily 250 m marine mammal exclusion zone monitoring was not undertaken during the reporting period.

2.4 EM&A Site Inspection

Termination proposal for construction EM&A programme was approved by EPD on 19 March 2021. The construction phase EM&A programme of the Contract has been terminated since 19 March 2021.

2.5 Waste Management Status

The Contractor had submitted application form for registration as chemical waste producer under the Contract. Sufficient numbers of receptacles were available for general refuse collection and sorting.

Wastes generated during this reporting period included mainly construction wastes (inert and non-inert). Reference has been made to the waste flow table prepared by the Contractor (Appendix G). The quantities of different types of wastes are summarized in Table 2.5.

Table 2.5 Quantities of Different Waste Generated in the Reporting Month

Month/Year	Inert Construction Waste ^(a) (tonnes)	Inert Construction Waste Re-used (tonnes)	Non-inert Construction Waste ^(b) (tonnes)	Recyclable Materials ^(c) (kg)	Chemical Wastes (kg)	Marine Sediment (m³)
Month/Year	Inert Construction Waste ^(a) (tonnes)	Inert Construction Waste Re-used (tonnes)	Non-inert Construction Waste ^(b) (tonnes)	Recyclable Materials ^(c) (kg)	Chemical Wastes (kg)	Category L	Category M (M_p & M_f)	Mixed (L+M)
August 2021	17	0	7	0	0	0	0	0
Notes:
(a) Inert construction wastes include hard rock and large broken concrete, and materials disposed as public fill. (b) Non-inert construction wastes include general refuse disposed at landfill. (c) Recyclable materials include metals, paper, cardboard, plastics, timber and others.

The Contractor was advised to properly maintain on site C&D materials and waste collection, sorting and recording system, dispose of C&D materials and wastes at designated ground and maximize reuse/ recycle of C&D materials and wastes. The Contractor was also reminded to properly maintain the site tidiness and dispose of the wastes accumulated on site regularly and properly

For chemical waste containers, the Contractor was reminded to treat properly and store temporarily in designated chemical waste storage area on site in accordance with the Code of Practice on the Packaging, Labelling and Storage of Chemical Wastes.

2.6 Environmental Licenses and Permits

The status of environmental licensing and permit is summarized in Table 2.6 below.

License/ Permit	License or Permit No.	Date of Issue	Date of Expiry	License/ Permit Holder	Remarks
Environmental Permit	EP-354/2009/D	13 March 2015	Throughout the Contract	HyD	Application for VEP on 3 March 2015 to supersede EP-354/2009/C
Construction Dust Notification	435068	27 June 2018	Throughout the Contract	DBJV	Northern Landfall
Construction Dust Notification	435505	12 July 2018	Throughout the Contract	DBJV	Southern Landfall
Chemical Waste Registration	5213-422-D2516-02	18 January 2017	Throughout the Contract	DBJV	Northern Landfall
Chemical Waste Registration	5213-951-D2591-01	25 May 2016	Throughout the Contract	DBJV	Southern Landfall
Construction Waste Disposal Account	7018108	28 August 2013	Throughout the Contract	DBJV	Waste disposal in Contract No. HY/2012/08
Waste Water Discharge License	WT00031435-2018	2 August 2018	31 August 2023	DBJV	Southern Landfall
Waste Water Discharge License	WT00034060-2019	25 July 2019	30 June 2024	DBJV	Northern Landfall (4 Discharge Point)
Notes:
HyD = Highways Department DBJV = Dragages – Bouygues Joint Venture VEP = Variation of Environmental Permit